Geri's Game
Encyclopedia
Geri's Game is a five-minute animated
short film made by Pixar
in 1997
, written and directed by Jan Pinkava
. It was the first Pixar Short created after Toy Story
, the previous short being Knick Knack
in 1989.
This film won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1998.
. The title character, Geri (voiced by Bob Peterson), is an elderly
man who plays a game of chess
against himself, "becoming" each of the players in turn by moving to the other side of the chessboard, where he changes his personality and either puts on or takes off his glasses to show this change. As the game progresses, it seems as though there are two people playing; at one point, the hands of both "opponents" are in frame. Black Geri (without the glasses) soon gains the upper hand over White Geri (with them), capturing every piece except his king and putting him in check. However, White Geri outsmarts Black Geri by faking a heart attack to distract him and turning the board around. While Black Geri is still distracted, White Geri checkmates what is now his opponent's king. Finding that now he is the one with only his king left and discovering what has happened, Black Geri resigns the game and hands over a set of false teeth as the prize. White Geri puts them in, then chuckles and grins, and the camera pulls back to reveal him alone at the chessboard.
The face of the character "Geri" resembles actor Jonathan Harris
, who also provided the voice of Geri for his later appearance in Toy Story 2
. In Toy Story 2, Geri is a toy repairman who fixes Woody
's torn arm. Chess pieces can be seen in his carrying case, in a nod to the short.
The film's director, Jan Pinkava
, says the character is loosely based on himself and his elderly relatives, particularly his grandfather who played chess very often.
and was subsequently featured on that film's VHS
and DVD
releases. It can also be found on the Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1
DVD. It was also released on super 8 film with stereo sound. There was also a VHS released in 1998 with only this short.
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
short film made by Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
in 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
, written and directed by Jan Pinkava
Jan Pinkava
Dr. Jan Jaroslav Pinkava, Ph.D. is the director and writer of the Pixar Oscar-winning 1997 short film Geri's Game and the originator and co-director of Pixar's Oscar-winning 2007 film Ratatouille....
. It was the first Pixar Short created after Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, the previous short being Knick Knack
Knick Knack
Knick Knack is a computer animated short film produced by Pixar, and directed by John Lasseter. It was released in 1989, and was the last short film produced by Pixar until the success of their full-length motion picture Toy Story and the final short Pixar made as a hardware company. It was also...
in 1989.
This film won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1998.
Plot
The film is set in an empty park during autumnAutumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
. The title character, Geri (voiced by Bob Peterson), is an elderly
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
man who plays a game of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
against himself, "becoming" each of the players in turn by moving to the other side of the chessboard, where he changes his personality and either puts on or takes off his glasses to show this change. As the game progresses, it seems as though there are two people playing; at one point, the hands of both "opponents" are in frame. Black Geri (without the glasses) soon gains the upper hand over White Geri (with them), capturing every piece except his king and putting him in check. However, White Geri outsmarts Black Geri by faking a heart attack to distract him and turning the board around. While Black Geri is still distracted, White Geri checkmates what is now his opponent's king. Finding that now he is the one with only his king left and discovering what has happened, Black Geri resigns the game and hands over a set of false teeth as the prize. White Geri puts them in, then chuckles and grins, and the camera pulls back to reveal him alone at the chessboard.
Development
The first Pixar production to have a human main character, Geri's Game was produced with the goal to "take human and cloth animation to new heights".The face of the character "Geri" resembles actor Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris was an American stage and film character actor. Two of his best-known roles were as the timid accountant Bradford Webster in the TV version of The Third Man, and the comic villain Dr. Zachary Smith, in the 1960s sci-fi television series, Lost in Space...
, who also provided the voice of Geri for his later appearance in Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
. In Toy Story 2, Geri is a toy repairman who fixes Woody
Sheriff Woody
Sheriff Woody Pride, or simply Woody, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Toy Story franchise . He is voiced by Tom Hanks in the films, and by Jim Hanks in most other media.-Toy Story:...
's torn arm. Chess pieces can be seen in his carrying case, in a nod to the short.
The film's director, Jan Pinkava
Jan Pinkava
Dr. Jan Jaroslav Pinkava, Ph.D. is the director and writer of the Pixar Oscar-winning 1997 short film Geri's Game and the originator and co-director of Pixar's Oscar-winning 2007 film Ratatouille....
, says the character is loosely based on himself and his elderly relatives, particularly his grandfather who played chess very often.
Release
Geri's Game was attached to the theatrical release of A Bug's LifeA Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
and was subsequently featured on that film's VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases. It can also be found on the Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1
Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1
Pixar Short Films Collection – Volume 1 is a DVD and Blu-ray title released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment that shows all of Pixar's short works from 1986 to 2006, plus an early short from when Pixar was still the computer department at Lucasfilm....
DVD. It was also released on super 8 film with stereo sound. There was also a VHS released in 1998 with only this short.
Awards
- 1997 - Academy Award - Best Animated Short Film
- 1998 - Anima Mundi Animation Festival - Best Film x2
- 1998 - Annecy International Animated Film FestivalAnnecy International Animated Film FestivalThe Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
- Jan Pinkava - 1998 - Annie AwardAnnie AwardThe Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
- Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short SubjectAnnie Award for Best Animated Short SubjectThe Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject is an Annie Award given annually to the best animated short film, except in 1999 and 2002. It was introduced in 1995... - 1998 - Florida Film FestivalFlorida Film FestivalThe Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Showcasing the best American independent and foreign films, the festival has become one of the most respected regional film events in the United States.-Overview:The Festival...
- Best Short - 1998 - World Animation Celebration - Best 3-D CGI by Professional Jan Pinkava
- 1998 - Zagreb World Festival of Animated FilmsZagreb World Festival of Animated FilmsAnimafest Zagreb, also known as World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb, is an annual festival dedicated to animated film held in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association, the event was established in 1972 at the time when Croatia was part of SFR Yugoslavia)...
- Internet Favourite
Mistakes
- When "white" Geri simulates the heart attack and turns the chessboard, the box with pieces falls on the ground. However, when the camera moves away a few moments later and shows Geri's table and its surroundings, the box and the pieces are not lying on the ground and are not present anywhere else.
External links
- Pixar's home page for Geri's Game